US5759733A - Liquid developer for electrostatic electrophotography - Google Patents
Liquid developer for electrostatic electrophotography Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US5759733A US5759733A US07/821,314 US82131492A US5759733A US 5759733 A US5759733 A US 5759733A US 82131492 A US82131492 A US 82131492A US 5759733 A US5759733 A US 5759733A
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- toner
- resin
- colorant
- liquid developer
- polyethylene oxide
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
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- 239000007788 liquid Substances 0.000 title claims abstract description 43
- 239000003086 colorant Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 39
- 229920005989 resin Polymers 0.000 claims abstract description 36
- 239000011347 resin Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 36
- 239000002253 acid Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 18
- 229920005672 polyolefin resin Polymers 0.000 claims abstract description 16
- 239000000155 melt Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 13
- 229920001577 copolymer Polymers 0.000 claims description 37
- 229920000098 polyolefin Polymers 0.000 claims description 28
- 229920003171 Poly (ethylene oxide) Polymers 0.000 claims description 12
- 229920001451 polypropylene glycol Polymers 0.000 claims description 10
- 150000001338 aliphatic hydrocarbons Chemical class 0.000 claims description 9
- 239000011230 binding agent Substances 0.000 claims description 9
- 239000011976 maleic acid Substances 0.000 claims description 8
- 239000012188 paraffin wax Substances 0.000 claims description 5
- 239000004925 Acrylic resin Substances 0.000 claims description 2
- 229920000178 Acrylic resin Polymers 0.000 claims description 2
- 239000002174 Styrene-butadiene Substances 0.000 claims description 2
- MTAZNLWOLGHBHU-UHFFFAOYSA-N butadiene-styrene rubber Chemical compound C=CC=C.C=CC1=CC=CC=C1 MTAZNLWOLGHBHU-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 2
- 239000000025 natural resin Substances 0.000 claims description 2
- 239000011115 styrene butadiene Substances 0.000 claims description 2
- 229920003048 styrene butadiene rubber Polymers 0.000 claims description 2
- GOOHAUXETOMSMM-UHFFFAOYSA-N Propylene oxide Chemical compound CC1CO1 GOOHAUXETOMSMM-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims 1
- 238000011010 flushing procedure Methods 0.000 abstract description 27
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 description 20
- OKTJSMMVPCPJKN-UHFFFAOYSA-N Carbon Chemical compound [C] OKTJSMMVPCPJKN-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 19
- 239000006185 dispersion Substances 0.000 description 18
- 230000000052 comparative effect Effects 0.000 description 13
- -1 Hansa Yellow Chemical compound 0.000 description 12
- 239000000049 pigment Substances 0.000 description 12
- CNPVJWYWYZMPDS-UHFFFAOYSA-N 2-methyldecane Chemical compound CCCCCCCCC(C)C CNPVJWYWYZMPDS-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 11
- 238000010438 heat treatment Methods 0.000 description 10
- 239000000203 mixture Substances 0.000 description 10
- 239000002904 solvent Substances 0.000 description 9
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 9
- QJZYHAIUNVAGQP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 3-nitrobicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-ene-2,3-dicarboxylic acid Chemical compound C1C2C=CC1C(C(=O)O)C2(C(O)=O)[N+]([O-])=O QJZYHAIUNVAGQP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 8
- 239000004698 Polyethylene Substances 0.000 description 8
- 229920000573 polyethylene Polymers 0.000 description 8
- 239000004021 humic acid Substances 0.000 description 7
- 239000002245 particle Substances 0.000 description 7
- 229920002126 Acrylic acid copolymer Polymers 0.000 description 6
- 239000000243 solution Substances 0.000 description 6
- QGZKDVFQNNGYKY-UHFFFAOYSA-O Ammonium Chemical compound [NH4+] QGZKDVFQNNGYKY-UHFFFAOYSA-O 0.000 description 5
- 239000006229 carbon black Substances 0.000 description 5
- 230000007423 decrease Effects 0.000 description 4
- 239000000975 dye Substances 0.000 description 4
- 235000019809 paraffin wax Nutrition 0.000 description 4
- 235000019271 petrolatum Nutrition 0.000 description 4
- 238000002360 preparation method Methods 0.000 description 4
- CERQOIWHTDAKMF-UHFFFAOYSA-N Methacrylic acid Chemical compound CC(=C)C(O)=O CERQOIWHTDAKMF-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- VVQNEPGJFQJSBK-UHFFFAOYSA-N Methyl methacrylate Chemical compound COC(=O)C(C)=C VVQNEPGJFQJSBK-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- 229910052799 carbon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 3
- 239000003795 chemical substances by application Substances 0.000 description 3
- 238000009472 formulation Methods 0.000 description 3
- 239000001023 inorganic pigment Substances 0.000 description 3
- 229940102838 methylmethacrylate Drugs 0.000 description 3
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- IEQIEDJGQAUEQZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N phthalocyanine Chemical compound N1C(N=C2C3=CC=CC=C3C(N=C3C4=CC=CC=C4C(=N4)N3)=N2)=C(C=CC=C2)C2=C1N=C1C2=CC=CC=C2C4=N1 IEQIEDJGQAUEQZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- 239000007787 solid Substances 0.000 description 3
- 239000000126 substance Substances 0.000 description 3
- PZWQOGNTADJZGH-SNAWJCMRSA-N (2e)-2-methylpenta-2,4-dienoic acid Chemical compound OC(=O)C(/C)=C/C=C PZWQOGNTADJZGH-SNAWJCMRSA-N 0.000 description 2
- IFYXEQMDGTZFCU-UHFFFAOYSA-N 2-methylprop-1-ene;prop-2-enoic acid Chemical compound CC(C)=C.OC(=O)C=C IFYXEQMDGTZFCU-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- XLOMVQKBTHCTTD-UHFFFAOYSA-N Zinc monoxide Chemical compound [Zn]=O XLOMVQKBTHCTTD-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 229920001971 elastomer Polymers 0.000 description 2
- UACSZOWTRIJIFU-UHFFFAOYSA-N hydroxymethyl 2-methylprop-2-enoate Chemical compound CC(=C)C(=O)OCO UACSZOWTRIJIFU-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 239000000178 monomer Substances 0.000 description 2
- VLKZOEOYAKHREP-UHFFFAOYSA-N n-Hexane Chemical compound CCCCCC VLKZOEOYAKHREP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- HMZGPNHSPWNGEP-UHFFFAOYSA-N octadecyl 2-methylprop-2-enoate Chemical compound CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCOC(=O)C(C)=C HMZGPNHSPWNGEP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 239000005060 rubber Substances 0.000 description 2
- 150000003839 salts Chemical class 0.000 description 2
- VZCYOOQTPOCHFL-UHFFFAOYSA-N trans-butenedioic acid Natural products OC(=O)C=CC(O)=O VZCYOOQTPOCHFL-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- OSNILPMOSNGHLC-UHFFFAOYSA-N 1-[4-methoxy-3-(piperidin-1-ylmethyl)phenyl]ethanone Chemical compound COC1=CC=C(C(C)=O)C=C1CN1CCCCC1 OSNILPMOSNGHLC-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- IIZPXYDJLKNOIY-JXPKJXOSSA-N 1-palmitoyl-2-arachidonoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine Chemical compound CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC(=O)OC[C@H](COP([O-])(=O)OCC[N+](C)(C)C)OC(=O)CCC\C=C/C\C=C/C\C=C/C\C=C/CCCCC IIZPXYDJLKNOIY-JXPKJXOSSA-N 0.000 description 1
- GTJOHISYCKPIMT-UHFFFAOYSA-N 2-methylundecane Chemical compound CCCCCCCCCC(C)C GTJOHISYCKPIMT-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- DWDURZSYQTXVIN-UHFFFAOYSA-N 4-[(4-aminophenyl)-(4-methyliminocyclohexa-2,5-dien-1-ylidene)methyl]aniline Chemical compound C1=CC(=NC)C=CC1=C(C=1C=CC(N)=CC=1)C1=CC=C(N)C=C1 DWDURZSYQTXVIN-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- RSWGJHLUYNHPMX-UHFFFAOYSA-N Abietic-Saeure Natural products C12CCC(C(C)C)=CC2=CCC2C1(C)CCCC2(C)C(O)=O RSWGJHLUYNHPMX-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- NLHHRLWOUZZQLW-UHFFFAOYSA-N Acrylonitrile Chemical compound C=CC#N NLHHRLWOUZZQLW-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- QGZKDVFQNNGYKY-UHFFFAOYSA-N Ammonia Chemical class N QGZKDVFQNNGYKY-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- YCKRFDGAMUMZLT-UHFFFAOYSA-N Fluorine atom Chemical compound [F] YCKRFDGAMUMZLT-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- VZCYOOQTPOCHFL-OWOJBTEDSA-N Fumaric acid Natural products OC(=O)\C=C\C(O)=O VZCYOOQTPOCHFL-OWOJBTEDSA-N 0.000 description 1
- SGVYKUFIHHTIFL-UHFFFAOYSA-N Isobutylhexyl Natural products CCCCCCCC(C)C SGVYKUFIHHTIFL-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- CERQOIWHTDAKMF-UHFFFAOYSA-M Methacrylate Chemical compound CC(=C)C([O-])=O CERQOIWHTDAKMF-UHFFFAOYSA-M 0.000 description 1
- OFOBLEOULBTSOW-UHFFFAOYSA-N Propanedioic acid Natural products OC(=O)CC(O)=O OFOBLEOULBTSOW-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- KHPCPRHQVVSZAH-HUOMCSJISA-N Rosin Natural products O(C/C=C/c1ccccc1)[C@H]1[C@H](O)[C@@H](O)[C@@H](O)[C@@H](CO)O1 KHPCPRHQVVSZAH-HUOMCSJISA-N 0.000 description 1
- 239000004809 Teflon Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229920006362 Teflon® Polymers 0.000 description 1
- GWEVSGVZZGPLCZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N Titan oxide Chemical compound O=[Ti]=O GWEVSGVZZGPLCZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 239000006230 acetylene black Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000007864 aqueous solution Substances 0.000 description 1
- 235000013871 bee wax Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 229940092738 beeswax Drugs 0.000 description 1
- 239000012166 beeswax Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000015572 biosynthetic process Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000009835 boiling Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000006231 channel black Substances 0.000 description 1
- ZLFVRXUOSPRRKQ-UHFFFAOYSA-N chembl2138372 Chemical compound [O-][N+](=O)C1=CC(C)=CC=C1N=NC1=C(O)C=CC2=CC=CC=C12 ZLFVRXUOSPRRKQ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 239000011248 coating agent Substances 0.000 description 1
- 238000000576 coating method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 150000001875 compounds Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 238000001816 cooling Methods 0.000 description 1
- XCJYREBRNVKWGJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N copper(II) phthalocyanine Chemical compound [Cu+2].C12=CC=CC=C2C(N=C2[N-]C(C3=CC=CC=C32)=N2)=NC1=NC([C]1C=CC=CC1=1)=NC=1N=C1[C]3C=CC=CC3=C2[N-]1 XCJYREBRNVKWGJ-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 239000004148 curcumin Substances 0.000 description 1
- 235000014113 dietary fatty acids Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 239000003085 diluting agent Substances 0.000 description 1
- 125000003438 dodecyl group Chemical group [H]C([H])([H])C([H])([H])C([H])([H])C([H])([H])C([H])([H])C([H])([H])C([H])([H])C([H])([H])C([H])([H])C([H])([H])C([H])([H])C([H])([H])* 0.000 description 1
- 229920005648 ethylene methacrylic acid copolymer Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 229930195729 fatty acid Natural products 0.000 description 1
- 239000000194 fatty acid Substances 0.000 description 1
- 150000004665 fatty acids Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 229910052731 fluorine Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000011737 fluorine Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000001530 fumaric acid Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000006232 furnace black Substances 0.000 description 1
- VOZRXNHHFUQHIL-UHFFFAOYSA-N glycidyl methacrylate Chemical compound CC(=C)C(=O)OCC1CO1 VOZRXNHHFUQHIL-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- VKPSKYDESGTTFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N isododecane Natural products CC(C)(C)CC(C)CC(C)(C)C VKPSKYDESGTTFR-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 238000004898 kneading Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229940067606 lecithin Drugs 0.000 description 1
- 235000010445 lecithin Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 239000000787 lecithin Substances 0.000 description 1
- 235000021388 linseed oil Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 239000000944 linseed oil Substances 0.000 description 1
- FDZZZRQASAIRJF-UHFFFAOYSA-M malachite green Chemical compound [Cl-].C1=CC(N(C)C)=CC=C1C(C=1C=CC=CC=1)=C1C=CC(=[N+](C)C)C=C1 FDZZZRQASAIRJF-UHFFFAOYSA-M 0.000 description 1
- 229940107698 malachite green Drugs 0.000 description 1
- 229910052751 metal Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000002184 metal Substances 0.000 description 1
- LVHBHZANLOWSRM-UHFFFAOYSA-N methylenebutanedioic acid Natural products OC(=O)CC(=C)C(O)=O LVHBHZANLOWSRM-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 239000012466 permeate Substances 0.000 description 1
- 229920001296 polysiloxane Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 239000000843 powder Substances 0.000 description 1
- 239000011164 primary particle Substances 0.000 description 1
- PYWVYCXTNDRMGF-UHFFFAOYSA-N rhodamine B Chemical compound [Cl-].C=12C=CC(=[N+](CC)CC)C=C2OC2=CC(N(CC)CC)=CC=C2C=1C1=CC=CC=C1C(O)=O PYWVYCXTNDRMGF-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 229920002545 silicone oil Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 229920002379 silicone rubber Polymers 0.000 description 1
- 239000000344 soap Substances 0.000 description 1
- JOUDBUYBGJYFFP-FOCLMDBBSA-N thioindigo Chemical compound S\1C2=CC=CC=C2C(=O)C/1=C1/C(=O)C2=CC=CC=C2S1 JOUDBUYBGJYFFP-FOCLMDBBSA-N 0.000 description 1
- OGIDPMRJRNCKJF-UHFFFAOYSA-N titanium oxide Inorganic materials [Ti]=O OGIDPMRJRNCKJF-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- KHPCPRHQVVSZAH-UHFFFAOYSA-N trans-cinnamyl beta-D-glucopyranoside Natural products OC1C(O)C(O)C(CO)OC1OCC=CC1=CC=CC=C1 KHPCPRHQVVSZAH-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 238000001291 vacuum drying Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000011787 zinc oxide Substances 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
- G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
- G03G9/00—Developers
- G03G9/08—Developers with toner particles
- G03G9/12—Developers with toner particles in liquid developer mixtures
- G03G9/13—Developers with toner particles in liquid developer mixtures characterised by polymer components
- G03G9/131—Developers with toner particles in liquid developer mixtures characterised by polymer components obtained by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds
Definitions
- This invention relates to a liquid developer for use in electrostatic electrophotography, electrostatic recording, electrostatic printing and the like.
- toner image fixing methods have been proposed: (1) a thermal image fixing method using an oven, in which a toner images bearing sheet is passed through the atmosphere in the oven heated by an electric heater, whereby the toner images are thermally fixed to the sheet; (2) a thermal image fixing method using heat application rollers, in which a toner images bearing sheet is passed between a pair of rollers, with at least one of the rollers being a heating roller, whereby the toner images are thermally fixed to the sheet; and (3) a pressure-application image fixing method using rigid rollers, in which a toner images bearing sheet is passed between a pair of rigid rollers at room temperature, whereby the toner images are fixed to the sheet with application of pressure thereto.
- the above described method (2) using heat application rollers is particularly favorably adaptable to an image formation apparatus which is designed for high-speed copying. This is because the heat application roller is brought into pressure contact with the surface of a transfer sheet which bears toner images, so that the toner images are quickly and firmly fixed to the transfer sheet with high thermal efficiency. Therefore, the method (2) is currently taking the place of the above described method (1), which has long been used on most copying machines employing liquid developers.
- the method (2) however, has the shortcoming that it tends to give rise to a so-called "off-set phenomenon" that when an image fixing heating roller is brought into pressure contact with a toner image bearing transfer sheet, part of the hot, melted toner on the transfer sheet is transferred to the surface of the heating roller, and the thus transferred toner is disadvantageously re-transferred to the transfer sheet and stains the same or forms a so-called ghost image on the transfer sheet.
- Another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid developer for use in electrophotography which has an excellent toner image fixing property.
- a further object of the present invention is to provide a liquid developer for use in electrophotography which has a high dispersion stability.
- a developer which comprises (i) a toner comprising as the main components a colorant, a resin, and a polyolefin resin, and (ii) a carrier liquid of an aliphatic hydrocarbon, in which the toner is dispersed.
- the polyolefin resin contained in the toner may be polyolefins or polyolefin copolymers which have an acid value of from 5 to 50 and a melt viscosity at 200° C.
- the colorant and the polyolefin resin may constitute an integral toner component prepared by subjecting the colorant and the polyolefin resin to a flushing process, which is referred to as the flushing colorant.
- toner particles When toner images are thermally fixed by using the conventional liquid developers (wet-type toners), toner particles are dissolved or swollen in a carrier liquid to some extent, and when this takes place, the cohesive force of a toner layer decreases. The decrease of the cohesive force gives rise to a so-called "hot off-set phenomenon". Further, the melted toner tends to stick to the surfaces of metallic heating rollers.
- melted toners can be prevented from adhering to the heating rollers by coating a silicone oil on the surfaces of the heating rollers or by using heating rollers made of Teflon.
- these methods are not suitable for a copying process in which a liquid developer is employed because the liquid developer generally contains a carrier liquid.
- a liquid developer for use in electrophotography of the present invention comprises (i) a toner comprising as the main components a colorant, a resin, and a polyolefin resin, and (ii) a carrier liquid which is an aliphatic hydrocarbon solvent, in which the toner is dispersed.
- a polarity controlling agent may also be added to the liquid developer.
- the polyolefin resin may be polyolefins or polyolefin copolymers which have an acid value of from 5 to 50 and a melt viscosity at 200° C. of from 100 to 15,000 cps, and the colorant and the polyolefin resin may constitute an integral toner component for the toner according to the present invention, which is prepared by subjecting the colorant and the polyolefin resin to a flushing process, which toner compound is referred to as a flushing colorant.
- the toner in the liquid developer comprises a polyolefin resin having an acid value of less than 5
- the toner does not show sufficient adhesiveness, so that the toner images cannot be firmly fixed to a transfer sheet.
- the toner comprises a polyolefin resin having an acid value of more than 50
- the toner particles coagulate when preserved at high temperatures, thus the preservability of the toner decreases.
- the toner layer permeates through a transfer sheet to the reverse side upon application of heat thereto, so that the resulting images are fixed to both sides of the transfer sheet and become illegible.
- the fixing performance of the toner layer decreases.
- a polyolefin having a melt viscosity at 200° C. of more than 15,000 cps is employed, the toner cannot easily be melted upon application of heat. Therefore, it is difficult to fix toner images to a transfer sheet at low temperatures, for example, at 100° C. to 140° C., or at high speeds.
- High temperature image fixing has not only the above-mentioned problems, but also other problems that the image transfer sheet tends to be wound around a heat application image fixing roller, curls, changes in size, and that image fixing rollers, which are usually made of silicon rubber, acrylonitrile rubber, fluorine-containing rubber, are deteriorated while in use.
- the developer according to the present invention can be used at a fixing temperature ranging from 100° C. to 140° C., so that the above-mentioned problems are avoided.
- polystyrene resins or polyolefin copolymers which are usable in the present invention are polyethylene oxide, ethylene-vinylpyridine-maleic acid copolymer, ethylene-ethylacrylate-acrylic acid copolymer, ethylene-isobutylmethacrylate-acrylic acid copolymer, propylene-acrylic acid copolymer, ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymer, ethylene-glycidylmethacrylate-maleic acid copolymer, propylene-maleic anhydride copolymer, ethylene-divinylbenzene-maleic acid copolymer, isobutylene-acrylic acid copolymer, ethylene-maleic anhydride copolymer, ethylene-ethylacrylate-maleic anhydride copolymer, isobutylene-glycidyl-methacrylate-fumaric acid copolymer, and propylene-butylacrylate-itac
- polyolefins and polyolefin copolymers are shown in Table 1.
- parenthesized numeral values shown after the names of copolymers represent the weight ratio (wt. %) of each component of the copolymers.
- inorganic pigments used as the colorant include carbon black pigments such as furnace black, acetylene black, channel black, commercially available PRINTEX G, PRINTEX V, SPECIAL BLACK 15, SPECIAL BLACK 4, SPECIAL BLACK 4-B (made by Degussa Japan Co., Ltd.), MITSUBISHI #4, MITSUBISHI #30, MA-11, MA-100 (made by Mitsubishi Carbon Co.), RABEN 30, RABEN 40, CONDUCTEX SC (made by Columbia Carbon Ltd.), REGAL 400, REGAL 660, REGAL 800, BLACKPEARLS L (made by Cabot Co., Ltd.).
- inorganic white pigments such as zinc oxide, titanium oxide and silicone oxide can also be employed.
- organic pigments used as the colorant include Phthalocyanine Blue, Phthalocyanine Green, Rhodamine Lake, Malachite Green Lake, Methyl Violet Lake, Peacock Blue Lake, Naphtol Green B, Permanent Red 4R, Hansa Yellow, Benzidine Yellow and Thioindigo Red.
- the aforementioned polyolefins or copolymers thereof which have an acid value of from 5 to 50, preferably from 10 to 30, and a melt viscosity at 200° C. of from 100 to 15,000 cps, preferably from 500 to 10,000 cps, are usable as a binder resin by which the pigment particles are coated.
- other polyolefins, acryl resins, rosin modified resins, styrene-butadiene resins, natural resins, paraffin waxes and other resins may be employed, so long as the achievement of the objects of the present invention is not impeded.
- a preferable amount of the above specified polyolefins or copolymers thereof, which have a melt viscosity at 200° C. of from 100 to 15,000 cps and an acid value of from 5 to 50, is from 10 to 90 wt. % based on the total amount of the binder resins contained in the toner. Even when a flushing colorant, which will be explained in detail later, is used, the above range of the amount is also applicable.
- paraffin waxes and polyolefins usable in the present invention are as follows.
- the carrier liquid for use in the present invention which is an aliphatic hydrocarbon solvent
- the carrier liquid for use in the present invention include isododecane, n-hexane and the like, and Shellsol 71 commercially available from Shell Kagaku K. K., and Isopar G, Isopar H, Isopar E, Isopar L and Isopar K commercially available from Exxon Chemical Co., Ltd.
- the liquid developer of the present invention may be prepared in accordance with the following manner:
- a mixture of 1 part by weight of the colorant and from 0.3 to 3 parts by weight of the binder resin is placed in a dispersing apparatus such as an attritor, a ball mill and a Keddy mill.
- the mixture is well dispersed in the presence of from 10 to 20 parts by weight of an aliphatic hydrocarbon carrier liquid, thereby obtaining a concentrated toner dispersion.
- the thus obtained dispersion is diluted with an aliphatic hydrocarbon solvent to a volume of 5 to 10 times the initial volume of the concentrated toner dispersion.
- a dispersion which comprises any of the above specified polyolefins or copolymers thereof, and an aliphatic hydrocarbon solvent can be used, as it is, as both the binder resin and the diluent.
- resins other than the above binder resins and a polarity controlling agent such as metal soaps, lecithin, linseed oil and higher fatty acids can also be used when necessary.
- the toner of the present invention which comprises any of the above specified polyolefins or polyolefin copolymers has high polarity and excellent dispersing stability, good results can be expected even if no polarity controlling agents are added.
- colorant Conventional inorganic and organic pigments are usable as the colorant in the present invention.
- a colorant which is prepared by a flushing method as described below is more preferable. According to the flushing method, pigment particles are pulverized into primary particles at the initial stage. The resulting colorant provides the developer with the characteristics of improved gradation, resolution and image density.
- the flushing method is conducted as follows. A pigment or a pigment paste containing water is placed together with a resin solution or a resin, and well mixed in a kneader called a "flusher". In the course of this process, the water surrounding the pigment particles is substituted with the resin solution or the resin. Thereafter, the mixture is taken out from the flusher, and the water phase of the mixture is removed. The remaining resinous phase containing the pigment is dried to remove the solvent, and the resulting solid mass is crushed into a powder.
- the thus obtained powdery colorant is referred to, in the present invention, as a "flushing colorant", which can be used as a toner component of the toner in the developer according to the present invention.
- the water and the solvent can also be removed under reduced pressure while kneading the mixture.
- a pigment but also a dyestuff may be used as a component of the toner for use in the present invention.
- From 10 to 60 parts by weight of the pigment or dyestuff are suitably subjected to the flushing treatment together with 100 parts by weight of the resin.
- the flushing treatment is effectively proceeded in the presence of humic acid, salts of humic acid (Na salts, NH 4 salts, etc.), or humic acid derivatives.
- the amount of the humic acid or the like is preferably from 0.1 to 30 wt. % based on the amount of the water-containing pigment or dyestuff paste.
- any resins which have been conventionally used as a binder for wet-type toners can be used in the flushing treatment.
- the above specified resins that is, polyolefins and polyolefin copolymers which have a melt viscosity at 200° C. of from 100 to 15,000 cps and an acid value of from 5 to 50 are preferably used.
- the resulting mixture was further kneaded at about 180° C. for 4 hours, and then subjected to vacuum drying, so that a solid mass was obtained. After cooling, the thus obtained solid mass was crushed into finely-divided particles, whereby a flushing colorant No. 1 for use in the present invention was prepared.
- Example 1 was repeated except that the dispersion for the concentrated toner dispersion employed in Example 1 was replaced by a dispersion with the following formulation, whereby a liquid developer No. 2 according to the present invention was prepared.
- Example 1 was repeated except that the colorant employed in Example 1 was replaced by Flushing Colorant No. 6 prepared in Table 3, whereby a liquid developer No. 3 according to the present invention was prepared.
- Example 1 was repeated except that the dispersion for the concentrated toner dispersion employed in Example 1 was replaced by a dispersion with the following formulation, whereby a liquid developer No. 4 according to the present invention was prepared.
- Example 1 was repeated except that the dispersion for the concentrated toner dispersion employed in Example 1 was replaced by a dispersion with the following formulation in which no flushing colorant was employed, whereby a comparative developer No. 1 was prepared:
- Example 1 was repeated except that Flushing Colorant No. 1 employed in Example 1 was replaced by each of the above prepared comparative flushing colorants A to D, whereby Comparative Developers No. 2 to No. 5 were prepared.
- the toner image fixing ratio was calculated in accordance with the following formula by subjecting the images of each copy sample to friction 100 times by use of a clock meter: ##EQU1##
- Toner offset on heating roller was assessed by visually inspecting the presence of ghost images which may appear on a copy paper at regular intervals of the length corresponding to the circumference of the employed heating roller.
- each developer was assessed by measuring the viscosity of each liquid developer after storage at 50° C. for 1 month.
- the term “good” means that the viscosity was 200 cps or less and substantially no changes were found in the viscosity
- the term “poor” means that the viscosity increased to 1,000 cps or more, indicating a drastic change in the viscosity
- toner images can be sharply fixed without causing a blur in images when the toner prepared by the flushing process was employed.
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Abstract
A liquid developer for use in electrophotography is disclosed, which comprises (i) a toner comprising as the main toner components a colorant, a resin, and a polyolefin resin having an acid value of from 5 to 50 and a melt viscosity at 200° C. of from 100 to 15,000 cps, and (ii) a carrier liquid in which the toner is dispersed. The polyolefin resin and the colorant in the liquid developer may constitute an integral flushing colorant which is prepared by subjecting the resin and the colorant to flushing processing.
Description
This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 07/276,169, filed Nov. 23, 1988, now abandoned.
This invention relates to a liquid developer for use in electrostatic electrophotography, electrostatic recording, electrostatic printing and the like.
Hitherto, the following toner image fixing methods have been proposed: (1) a thermal image fixing method using an oven, in which a toner images bearing sheet is passed through the atmosphere in the oven heated by an electric heater, whereby the toner images are thermally fixed to the sheet; (2) a thermal image fixing method using heat application rollers, in which a toner images bearing sheet is passed between a pair of rollers, with at least one of the rollers being a heating roller, whereby the toner images are thermally fixed to the sheet; and (3) a pressure-application image fixing method using rigid rollers, in which a toner images bearing sheet is passed between a pair of rigid rollers at room temperature, whereby the toner images are fixed to the sheet with application of pressure thereto.
These toner image fixing methods have both merits and demerits. The above described method (2) using heat application rollers is particularly favorably adaptable to an image formation apparatus which is designed for high-speed copying. This is because the heat application roller is brought into pressure contact with the surface of a transfer sheet which bears toner images, so that the toner images are quickly and firmly fixed to the transfer sheet with high thermal efficiency. Therefore, the method (2) is currently taking the place of the above described method (1), which has long been used on most copying machines employing liquid developers.
The method (2), however, has the shortcoming that it tends to give rise to a so-called "off-set phenomenon" that when an image fixing heating roller is brought into pressure contact with a toner image bearing transfer sheet, part of the hot, melted toner on the transfer sheet is transferred to the surface of the heating roller, and the thus transferred toner is disadvantageously re-transferred to the transfer sheet and stains the same or forms a so-called ghost image on the transfer sheet.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved liquid developer for use in electrophotography which does not give rise to the so-called off-set phenomenon even when toner images are fixed by using heat application rollers, and allows high speed image fixing with high thermal efficiency at relatively low temperatures by thermal image fixing.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid developer for use in electrophotography which has an excellent toner image fixing property.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a liquid developer for use in electrophotography which has a high dispersion stability.
The above objects of the present invention can be attained by a developer which comprises (i) a toner comprising as the main components a colorant, a resin, and a polyolefin resin, and (ii) a carrier liquid of an aliphatic hydrocarbon, in which the toner is dispersed. The polyolefin resin contained in the toner may be polyolefins or polyolefin copolymers which have an acid value of from 5 to 50 and a melt viscosity at 200° C. of from 100 cps to 15,000 cps, and the colorant and the polyolefin resin may constitute an integral toner component prepared by subjecting the colorant and the polyolefin resin to a flushing process, which is referred to as the flushing colorant.
When toner images are thermally fixed by using the conventional liquid developers (wet-type toners), toner particles are dissolved or swollen in a carrier liquid to some extent, and when this takes place, the cohesive force of a toner layer decreases. The decrease of the cohesive force gives rise to a so-called "hot off-set phenomenon". Further, the melted toner tends to stick to the surfaces of metallic heating rollers.
In the case where dry-type developers (dry-type toners) are used, melted toners can be prevented from adhering to the heating rollers by coating a silicone oil on the surfaces of the heating rollers or by using heating rollers made of Teflon. However, these methods are not suitable for a copying process in which a liquid developer is employed because the liquid developer generally contains a carrier liquid.
A liquid developer for use in electrophotography of the present invention comprises (i) a toner comprising as the main components a colorant, a resin, and a polyolefin resin, and (ii) a carrier liquid which is an aliphatic hydrocarbon solvent, in which the toner is dispersed. When necessary, a polarity controlling agent may also be added to the liquid developer.
As mentioned previously, the polyolefin resin may be polyolefins or polyolefin copolymers which have an acid value of from 5 to 50 and a melt viscosity at 200° C. of from 100 to 15,000 cps, and the colorant and the polyolefin resin may constitute an integral toner component for the toner according to the present invention, which is prepared by subjecting the colorant and the polyolefin resin to a flushing process, which toner compound is referred to as a flushing colorant.
In the case where the toner in the liquid developer comprises a polyolefin resin having an acid value of less than 5, the toner does not show sufficient adhesiveness, so that the toner images cannot be firmly fixed to a transfer sheet. On the other hand, when the toner comprises a polyolefin resin having an acid value of more than 50, the toner particles coagulate when preserved at high temperatures, thus the preservability of the toner decreases.
Further, when a polyolefin having a melt viscosity at 200° C. of below 100 cps is used, the toner layer permeates through a transfer sheet to the reverse side upon application of heat thereto, so that the resulting images are fixed to both sides of the transfer sheet and become illegible. In addition, since such polyolefins imparts insufficient adhesion between toner particles, the fixing performance of the toner layer decreases. On the contrary, if a polyolefin having a melt viscosity at 200° C. of more than 15,000 cps is employed, the toner cannot easily be melted upon application of heat. Therefore, it is difficult to fix toner images to a transfer sheet at low temperatures, for example, at 100° C. to 140° C., or at high speeds.
More specifically, however, when the image fixing temperature has to be raised to 160° C. to 210° C., and Isopar solvents which are conventionally employed as carrier liquids for wet type developers and have boiling points ranging From 150° C. to 210° C. are used at such high temperatures, such solvents evaporate or have the risk of catching fire, and the odor of the solvents spreads. High temperature image fixing has not only the above-mentioned problems, but also other problems that the image transfer sheet tends to be wound around a heat application image fixing roller, curls, changes in size, and that image fixing rollers, which are usually made of silicon rubber, acrylonitrile rubber, fluorine-containing rubber, are deteriorated while in use.
By contrast, the developer according to the present invention can be used at a fixing temperature ranging from 100° C. to 140° C., so that the above-mentioned problems are avoided.
Examples of the polyolefins or polyolefin copolymers which are usable in the present invention are polyethylene oxide, ethylene-vinylpyridine-maleic acid copolymer, ethylene-ethylacrylate-acrylic acid copolymer, ethylene-isobutylmethacrylate-acrylic acid copolymer, propylene-acrylic acid copolymer, ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymer, ethylene-glycidylmethacrylate-maleic acid copolymer, propylene-maleic anhydride copolymer, ethylene-divinylbenzene-maleic acid copolymer, isobutylene-acrylic acid copolymer, ethylene-maleic anhydride copolymer, ethylene-ethylacrylate-maleic anhydride copolymer, isobutylene-glycidyl-methacrylate-fumaric acid copolymer, and propylene-butylacrylate-itaconic acid copolymer.
Specific examples of the polyolefins and polyolefin copolymers are shown in Table 1. In the table, parenthesized numeral values shown after the names of copolymers represent the weight ratio (wt. %) of each component of the copolymers.
TABLE 1
______________________________________
Melt
viscosity
Polyolefins or at 200° C.
Acid
Polyolefin Copolymers (cps) Value
______________________________________
(1) Ethylene-vinylpyridine-maleic
520 26
acid copolymer (90/5/5)
(2) Ethylene-ethylacrylate-acrylic
10000 23
acid copolymer (90/5/5)
(3) Ethylene-isobutylmethacrylate-
11000 48
acrylic acid copolymer (40/45/15)
(4) Propylene-acrylic acid copolymer
710 21
(95/5)
(5) Polyethylene oxide 360 18
(6) Polyethylene oxide 550 25
(7) Polypropylene oxide 470 18
(8) Polypropylene oxide 580 27
(9) Ethylene-methacrylic acid
12300 26
copolymer (95/5)
(10) Ethylene-glycidylmethacrylate-
695 24
maleic acid copolymer (80/15/5)
(11) Propylene-maleic anhydride (98/2)
580 5.8
(12) Ethylene-divinylbenzene-maleic
865 46
acid copolymer (90/3/7)
(13) Isobutylene-acrylic acid
13000 18
copolymer (96/4)
(14) Ethylene-maleic anhydride
8900 24
copolymer (98/2)
(15) Ethylene-ethylacrylate-maleic
12500 28
anhydride copolymer (90/7/3)
(16) Isobutylene-glycidyl-methacrylate-
9600 15
fumaric acid copolymer (90/6/4)
(17) Propylene-butylacrylate-
1200 12
itaconic acid copolymer
(85/13/2)
______________________________________
Examples of inorganic pigments used as the colorant include carbon black pigments such as furnace black, acetylene black, channel black, commercially available PRINTEX G, PRINTEX V, SPECIAL BLACK 15, SPECIAL BLACK 4, SPECIAL BLACK 4-B (made by Degussa Japan Co., Ltd.), MITSUBISHI #4, MITSUBISHI #30, MA-11, MA-100 (made by Mitsubishi Carbon Co.), RABEN 30, RABEN 40, CONDUCTEX SC (made by Columbia Carbon Ltd.), REGAL 400, REGAL 660, REGAL 800, BLACKPEARLS L (made by Cabot Co., Ltd.). In addition, inorganic white pigments such as zinc oxide, titanium oxide and silicone oxide can also be employed.
Examples of organic pigments used as the colorant include Phthalocyanine Blue, Phthalocyanine Green, Rhodamine Lake, Malachite Green Lake, Methyl Violet Lake, Peacock Blue Lake, Naphtol Green B, Permanent Red 4R, Hansa Yellow, Benzidine Yellow and Thioindigo Red.
The above listed inorganic and organic pigments are usable singly or in combination.
The aforementioned polyolefins or copolymers thereof which have an acid value of from 5 to 50, preferably from 10 to 30, and a melt viscosity at 200° C. of from 100 to 15,000 cps, preferably from 500 to 10,000 cps, are usable as a binder resin by which the pigment particles are coated. In combination with the above specified polyolefins and polyolefin copolymers, other polyolefins, acryl resins, rosin modified resins, styrene-butadiene resins, natural resins, paraffin waxes and other resins may be employed, so long as the achievement of the objects of the present invention is not impeded.
A preferable amount of the above specified polyolefins or copolymers thereof, which have a melt viscosity at 200° C. of from 100 to 15,000 cps and an acid value of from 5 to 50, is from 10 to 90 wt. % based on the total amount of the binder resins contained in the toner. Even when a flushing colorant, which will be explained in detail later, is used, the above range of the amount is also applicable.
Examples of the above described paraffin waxes and polyolefins usable in the present invention are as follows.
TABLE 2
______________________________________
Softening
Manufacturers Trademarks Point (°C.)
______________________________________
Allied Chemical
AC Polyethylene 1702
85
Corp. AC Polyethylene 617, 617A
102
AC Polyethylene 9, 9A
117
AC Polyethylene 430
60
AC Polyethylene 405
96
AC Polyethylene 401
102
AC Polyethylene 540
108
AC Polyethylene 580
108
Kodak Japan K.K.
Epolene N-14 105
Epolene E-15 96
Sanyo Chemical
Sanwax 131-P 108
Industries, Ltd.
Sanwax 151-P 107
Sanwax 161-P 111
Sanwax 165-P 107
Sanwax 171-P 105
Sanwax E-250P 102
Sanwax E-300P 98
Junsei Chemical
Paraffin Wax 40-90
Co., Ltd.
Hoechst A.G. PED 521 104
PED 543 110
PED 153 99
Yasuhara Yushi
Neowax L 105
Kogyo Co., Ltd.
Neowax E 100
______________________________________
Preferable examples of the carrier liquid for use in the present invention, which is an aliphatic hydrocarbon solvent, include isododecane, n-hexane and the like, and Shellsol 71 commercially available from Shell Kagaku K. K., and Isopar G, Isopar H, Isopar E, Isopar L and Isopar K commercially available from Exxon Chemical Co., Ltd.
The liquid developer of the present invention may be prepared in accordance with the following manner:
A mixture of 1 part by weight of the colorant and from 0.3 to 3 parts by weight of the binder resin is placed in a dispersing apparatus such as an attritor, a ball mill and a Keddy mill. The mixture is well dispersed in the presence of from 10 to 20 parts by weight of an aliphatic hydrocarbon carrier liquid, thereby obtaining a concentrated toner dispersion. The thus obtained dispersion is diluted with an aliphatic hydrocarbon solvent to a volume of 5 to 10 times the initial volume of the concentrated toner dispersion.
In the above, a dispersion which comprises any of the above specified polyolefins or copolymers thereof, and an aliphatic hydrocarbon solvent can be used, as it is, as both the binder resin and the diluent. Further, when preparing the concentrated toner dispersion, resins other than the above binder resins and a polarity controlling agent such as metal soaps, lecithin, linseed oil and higher fatty acids can also be used when necessary. However, since the toner of the present invention which comprises any of the above specified polyolefins or polyolefin copolymers has high polarity and excellent dispersing stability, good results can be expected even if no polarity controlling agents are added.
Conventional inorganic and organic pigments are usable as the colorant in the present invention. However, a colorant which is prepared by a flushing method as described below is more preferable. According to the flushing method, pigment particles are pulverized into primary particles at the initial stage. The resulting colorant provides the developer with the characteristics of improved gradation, resolution and image density.
The flushing method is conducted as follows. A pigment or a pigment paste containing water is placed together with a resin solution or a resin, and well mixed in a kneader called a "flusher". In the course of this process, the water surrounding the pigment particles is substituted with the resin solution or the resin. Thereafter, the mixture is taken out from the flusher, and the water phase of the mixture is removed. The remaining resinous phase containing the pigment is dried to remove the solvent, and the resulting solid mass is crushed into a powder. The thus obtained powdery colorant is referred to, in the present invention, as a "flushing colorant", which can be used as a toner component of the toner in the developer according to the present invention. in the above flushing method, the water and the solvent can also be removed under reduced pressure while kneading the mixture. As far as the flushing method is employed, not only a pigment but also a dyestuff may be used as a component of the toner for use in the present invention. In this case, it is necessary to knead a dyestuff with water into a mud-like paste in advance. From 10 to 60 parts by weight of the pigment or dyestuff are suitably subjected to the flushing treatment together with 100 parts by weight of the resin. Further, the flushing treatment is effectively proceeded in the presence of humic acid, salts of humic acid (Na salts, NH4 salts, etc.), or humic acid derivatives. The amount of the humic acid or the like is preferably from 0.1 to 30 wt. % based on the amount of the water-containing pigment or dyestuff paste.
Any resins which have been conventionally used as a binder for wet-type toners can be used in the flushing treatment. Of such resins, the above specified resins, that is, polyolefins and polyolefin copolymers which have a melt viscosity at 200° C. of from 100 to 15,000 cps and an acid value of from 5 to 50 are preferably used.
The followings are preparation examples of a flushing colorant.
20 g of ammonium humate was dissolved in 200 g of water in a gallon kneader to prepare an aqueous solution of ammonium humate. To this solution, 250 g of carbon black (Trademark "Mitsubishi #44") was added and thoroughly dispersed. Thereafter, 750 g of an ethylene-vinylpyridine-maleic acid copolymer (90/5/5) shown as polyolefin copolymer No. (1) in Table 1 was added and mixed at an elevated temperature of about 180° C. Water was then removed from the mixture.
The resulting mixture was further kneaded at about 180° C. for 4 hours, and then subjected to vacuum drying, so that a solid mass was obtained. After cooling, the thus obtained solid mass was crushed into finely-divided particles, whereby a flushing colorant No. 1 for use in the present invention was prepared.
TABLE 3
__________________________________________________________________________
Flushing
Colorant
Water
Humic Acid Pigment Resin
__________________________________________________________________________
No. 3
150 Ammonium fumate
25
g Printex V
300
g Copolymer (3) in Table
200
g
PED 521 250
g
No. 4
150 Ammonium fumate
25
g Printex V
300
g Copolymer (4) in Table
300
g
Sanwax 250P 300
g
No. 5
250 Ammonium fumate
25
g Regal 400
300
g Copolymer (12) in Table
500
g
Bees wax 250
g
No. 6
250 Humic acid
50
g Regal 400
300
g Copolymer (9) in Table
500
g
Paraffin wax
200
g
(softening point 64° C.)
No. 7
100 Humic acid
50
g Phthalocyanine
250
g Polypropylene oxide (7)
300
g
Blue in Table 1
No. 8
100 Humic acid
50
g Phthalocyanine
250
g Polypropylene oxide (8)
250
g
Green in Table 1
Sanwax 171P 280
g
No. 9
100 -- Thioindigo
300
g Copolymer (9) in Table
300
g
Red
No. 10
100 -- Printex G
250
g Copolymer (10) in Table
100
g
Alkali Blue
50 g BR-102 (acrylic resin)
80 g
__________________________________________________________________________
The present invention will now be explained in more detail by referring to the following examples and comparative examples, which are given for illustration of the invention and are not intended to be limiting thereof.
The following components were placed in a ball mill and dispersed for 24 hours:
______________________________________
Parts by Weight
______________________________________
Flushing Colorant No. 1 (prepared
50
in Colorant Preparation Example 1)
Isopar H 20% solution of a lauryl
100
methacrylate/methylmethacrylate/
methacrylic acid/glycidylmethacrylate
(80/10/5/5) copolymer
Isopar H (made by EXXON Chemical Co. Ltd.)
200
______________________________________
To the above dispersion, 300 parts by weight of Isopar H were further added and dispersed for 1 hour, so that a concentrated toner dispersion was prepared. 200 g of the thus prepared concentrated toner dispersion was diluted with 1 liter of Isopar H, whereby a liquid developer No. 1 according to the present invention was prepared.
Example 1 was repeated except that the dispersion for the concentrated toner dispersion employed in Example 1 was replaced by a dispersion with the following formulation, whereby a liquid developer No. 2 according to the present invention was prepared.
______________________________________
Parts by Weight
______________________________________
Polyethylene oxide shown as
60
polyolefin No. (5) in Table 1
Isopar H 10% solution of a
200
stearylmethacrylate/methyl-
methacrylate/methacrylic acid/
hydroxymethylmethacrylate
(85/7/4/4) copolymer
Carbon black (Trademark "Mitsubishi
50
Carbon MH-100")
Isopar H 100
______________________________________
Example 1 was repeated except that the colorant employed in Example 1 was replaced by Flushing Colorant No. 6 prepared in Table 3, whereby a liquid developer No. 3 according to the present invention was prepared.
Example 1 was repeated except that the dispersion for the concentrated toner dispersion employed in Example 1 was replaced by a dispersion with the following formulation, whereby a liquid developer No. 4 according to the present invention was prepared.
______________________________________
Parts by Weight
______________________________________
Ethylene-methacrylic acid
80
copolymer (95/5) shown as
polyolefin copolymer No. (9) in
Table 1
Carbon black (Trademark "Regal 400"
30
made by Cabot Co., Ltd.)
Isopar H 200
______________________________________
Example 1 was repeated except that the dispersion for the concentrated toner dispersion employed in Example 1 was replaced by a dispersion with the following formulation in which no flushing colorant was employed, whereby a comparative developer No. 1 was prepared:
______________________________________
Parts by Weight
______________________________________
Isopar H 10% solution of a
260
stearylmethacrylate/methyl-
methacrylate/methacrylic acid/
hydroxymethylmethacrylate
(85/7/4/4) copolymer
Carbon black (Trademark "Mitsubishi
50
Carbon MH-100")
Isopar H 100
______________________________________
Colorant Preparation Example 1 was repeated except that the ethylene-vinylpyridine-maleic acid copolymer (90/5/5) employed therein was replaced by the ethylene-vinyl-pyridine-maleic acid copolymers having the following ratios of the respective monomer components, whereby comparative flushing colorants A to D were prepared:
______________________________________
Flushing Melt Viscosity
Colorant Monomer Ratio
Acid Value
(cp)
______________________________________
A 95/5/0 0 520
B 94.5/5.25/0.25
2 520
C 77/4/19 60 520
D 72/4/24 100 520
______________________________________
Example 1 was repeated except that Flushing Colorant No. 1 employed in Example 1 was replaced by each of the above prepared comparative flushing colorants A to D, whereby Comparative Developers No. 2 to No. 5 were prepared.
In order to evaluate the toner images fixing performance and to observe the transfer of the liquid developers to a thermal toner image fixing roller, the above prepared Liquid Developers No. 1 to No. 4 according to the present invention, and Comparative Liquid Developers No. 1 to 5 were subjected to a copy making test by use of a commercially available electrophotographic copying machine (Trademark "CT 5058" made by Ricoh Company, Ltd.) with the temperature of the thermal toner image fixing roller set at 140° C., so that 100 duplex copies were made continuously. The toner image fixing ratio and the toner offset on the neat application roller were inspected in the copy making test. The results are shown in Table 4.
TABLE 4
______________________________________
Toner Image Toner Off-set on
Preserv-
Fixing Ratio (%) Heating Roller
ability
______________________________________
Example 1
88.0 Nil Good
Example 2
79.5 Nil Good
Example 3
85.8 Nil Good
Example 4
80.0 Nil Good
Comparative
62.4 Observed Good
Example 1
Comparative
68.1 Slightly Good
Example 2 observed
Comparative
62.1 Slightly Good
Example 3 observed
Comparative
90.3 Nil Poor
Example 4
Comparative
92.2 Nil Poor
Example 5
______________________________________
In the above, the toner image fixing ratio was calculated in accordance with the following formula by subjecting the images of each copy sample to friction 100 times by use of a clock meter: ##EQU1##
Toner offset on heating roller was assessed by visually inspecting the presence of ghost images which may appear on a copy paper at regular intervals of the length corresponding to the circumference of the employed heating roller.
The preservability of each developer was assessed by measuring the viscosity of each liquid developer after storage at 50° C. for 1 month. In the above table, the term "good" means that the viscosity was 200 cps or less and substantially no changes were found in the viscosity, and the term "poor" means that the viscosity increased to 1,000 cps or more, indicating a drastic change in the viscosity
The above data clearly indicate that when the liquid developers of the present invention are employed, toner images can be well fixed by using thermal rollers without giving rise to the so-called off-set phenomenon.
In addition, by using the liquid developers of the present invention, toner images can be sharply fixed without causing a blur in images when the toner prepared by the flushing process was employed.
Further, when the above specified resins for use in the present invention are employed in dry-type toners as a binder, good results, almost equal to the above results, were obtained.
Claims (6)
1. A liquid developer for use in electrophotography comprising:
a toner comprising as the main toner components a colorant and a polyethylene oxide or polypropylene oxide resin having an acid value of from 5 to 50 and a melt viscosity at 200° C. of from 100 to 15,000 cps; and
an aliphatic hydrocarbon carrier liquid in which said toner is dispersed.
2. A liquid developer for use in electrophotography comprising:
a toner comprising as the main toner components a colorant, polyethylene oxide or polypropylene oxide resin having an acid value of from 5 to 50 and a melt viscosity at 200° C. of from 100 to 15,000 and a second resin different from said polyethylene oxide or polypropylene oxide resin, the amount of the polyethylene oxide or propylene oxide resin being in the range of 10 to 90 wt. % of the total of said second resin and said polyethylene oxide or polypropylene oxide resin, said second resin being selected from the group consisting of a polyolefin different from polyethylene oxide or polypropylene oxide, acrylic resin, rosin-modified resin, styrene-butadiene resin, natural resins and paraffin wax; and
an aliphatic hydrocarbon carrier liquid in which said toner is dispersed.
3. The liquid developer as claimed in claim 1, wherein said polyolefin resin has an acid value of from 10 to 30 and a melt viscosity at 200° C. of 500 to 10,000 cps.
4. The liquid developer as claimed in claim 1, wherein said polyolefin resin is polyethylene oxide.
5. A liquid developer for use in electrophotography, comprising:
a toner comprising a colorant and a binder resin selected from the group consisting of polyethylene oxide and polypropylene oxide, with the provisos that said binder resin has an acid value of from 5 to 50 and a melt viscosity at 200° C. of from 100 to 15,000 cps, and a carrier liquid in which said toner is dispersed.
6. A liquid developer for use in electrophotography comprising:
a toner comprising as the main toner components a colorant and a polyolefin resin having an acid value of from 5 to 50 and a melt viscosity at 200° C. of from 100 to 15,000 cps, said polyolefin resin consisting of an ethylene-vinylpyridine-maleic acid copolymer with a respective component weight ratio of 90/5/5; and
an aliphatic hydrocarbon carrier liquid in which said toner is dispersed.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US07/821,314 US5759733A (en) | 1987-11-28 | 1992-01-13 | Liquid developer for electrostatic electrophotography |
Applications Claiming Priority (4)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP30127687 | 1987-11-28 | ||
| JP62-301276 | 1987-11-28 | ||
| US27616988A | 1988-11-23 | 1988-11-23 | |
| US07/821,314 US5759733A (en) | 1987-11-28 | 1992-01-13 | Liquid developer for electrostatic electrophotography |
Related Parent Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| US27616988A Continuation | 1987-11-28 | 1988-11-23 |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| US5759733A true US5759733A (en) | 1998-06-02 |
Family
ID=26562629
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| US07/821,314 Expired - Lifetime US5759733A (en) | 1987-11-28 | 1992-01-13 | Liquid developer for electrostatic electrophotography |
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| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US5759733A (en) |
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| US5981134A (en) * | 1997-03-25 | 1999-11-09 | Minolta Co., Ltd. | Liquid developer for electrophotography |
| US5989769A (en) * | 1998-10-30 | 1999-11-23 | Xerox Corporation | Liquid developers and processes thereof |
| US6020103A (en) * | 1996-07-03 | 2000-02-01 | Ricoh Company, Ltd. | Liquid developer, method of producing the liquid developer and image formation using the same |
| US6146804A (en) * | 1997-04-03 | 2000-11-14 | Minolta Co., Ltd. | Electrophotographic liquid developer and image forming apparatus |
| US6187498B1 (en) * | 1999-08-30 | 2001-02-13 | Xerox Corporation | Liquid developers and processes thereof |
| WO2001053895A1 (en) * | 1994-02-28 | 2001-07-26 | Indigo N.V. | Liquid toner and method of printing using same |
| US6623902B1 (en) | 1991-03-28 | 2003-09-23 | Hewlett-Packard Indigo B.V. | Liquid toner and method of printing using same |
| US6692881B2 (en) | 2001-05-30 | 2004-02-17 | Ricoh Company Limited | Recording liquid and image forming method using the recording liquid |
| US20040170446A1 (en) * | 2002-12-20 | 2004-09-02 | Hiroyuki Nagashima | Image forming apparatus using a user installable process cartridge, a method of arranging the process cartridge, and the process cartridge itself |
| US20040234879A1 (en) * | 2003-03-17 | 2004-11-25 | Kumi Hasegawa | Toner for electrophotography, and image fixing process, image forming process, image forming apparatus and process cartridge using the same |
| US6861193B1 (en) | 2000-05-17 | 2005-03-01 | Hewlett-Packard Indigo B.V. | Fluorescent liquid toner and method of printing using same |
| WO2006046225A1 (en) * | 2004-10-28 | 2006-05-04 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Adhesive primer coating for printing |
| US20110222911A1 (en) * | 2010-03-15 | 2011-09-15 | Kyocera Mita Corporation | Liquid developer and wet-type image forming apparatus |
| US20130016420A1 (en) * | 2011-07-12 | 2013-01-17 | Jong-Souk Yeo | Dual color electronically addressable ink |
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| US6623902B1 (en) | 1991-03-28 | 2003-09-23 | Hewlett-Packard Indigo B.V. | Liquid toner and method of printing using same |
| US7078141B2 (en) | 1991-03-28 | 2006-07-18 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, Lp | Liquid toner and method of printing using same |
| US20040023143A1 (en) * | 1991-03-28 | 2004-02-05 | Hewlett-Packard Indigo B.V. | Liquid toner and method of printing using same |
| WO2001053895A1 (en) * | 1994-02-28 | 2001-07-26 | Indigo N.V. | Liquid toner and method of printing using same |
| US6020103A (en) * | 1996-07-03 | 2000-02-01 | Ricoh Company, Ltd. | Liquid developer, method of producing the liquid developer and image formation using the same |
| US5981134A (en) * | 1997-03-25 | 1999-11-09 | Minolta Co., Ltd. | Liquid developer for electrophotography |
| US6146804A (en) * | 1997-04-03 | 2000-11-14 | Minolta Co., Ltd. | Electrophotographic liquid developer and image forming apparatus |
| US5989769A (en) * | 1998-10-30 | 1999-11-23 | Xerox Corporation | Liquid developers and processes thereof |
| US6187498B1 (en) * | 1999-08-30 | 2001-02-13 | Xerox Corporation | Liquid developers and processes thereof |
| US6861193B1 (en) | 2000-05-17 | 2005-03-01 | Hewlett-Packard Indigo B.V. | Fluorescent liquid toner and method of printing using same |
| US6692881B2 (en) | 2001-05-30 | 2004-02-17 | Ricoh Company Limited | Recording liquid and image forming method using the recording liquid |
| US20040170446A1 (en) * | 2002-12-20 | 2004-09-02 | Hiroyuki Nagashima | Image forming apparatus using a user installable process cartridge, a method of arranging the process cartridge, and the process cartridge itself |
| US7024133B2 (en) | 2002-12-20 | 2006-04-04 | Ricoh Co., Ltd. | Image forming apparatus using a user installable process cartridge, a method of arranging the process cartridge, and the process cartridge itself |
| US20040234879A1 (en) * | 2003-03-17 | 2004-11-25 | Kumi Hasegawa | Toner for electrophotography, and image fixing process, image forming process, image forming apparatus and process cartridge using the same |
| US7217485B2 (en) | 2003-03-17 | 2007-05-15 | Ricoh Company, Ltd. | Toner for electrophotography, and image fixing process, image forming process, image forming apparatus and process cartridge using the same |
| WO2006046225A1 (en) * | 2004-10-28 | 2006-05-04 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Adhesive primer coating for printing |
| US20070253751A1 (en) * | 2004-10-28 | 2007-11-01 | Ofer Thaler | Adhesive Primer Coating for Printing |
| US8628906B2 (en) | 2004-10-28 | 2014-01-14 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Adhesive primer coating for printing |
| US20110222911A1 (en) * | 2010-03-15 | 2011-09-15 | Kyocera Mita Corporation | Liquid developer and wet-type image forming apparatus |
| US8524435B2 (en) * | 2010-03-15 | 2013-09-03 | Kyocera Mita Corporation | Liquid developer and wet-type image forming apparatus |
| US20130016420A1 (en) * | 2011-07-12 | 2013-01-17 | Jong-Souk Yeo | Dual color electronically addressable ink |
| US8514481B2 (en) * | 2011-07-12 | 2013-08-20 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Dual color electronically addressable ink |
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